- Full title Desarrollo de un sistema en túnel de viento para la mejora del rendimiento de embarcaciones 470 - Fase I: Instrumentación y procesado de datos
- Funding entity Consejo Superior de Deportes
- Researchers Fernando López Peña, Pilar Caamaño Sobrino, Vicente Díaz Casás, Richard J Duro Fernández, Alba Martínez López, Marcos Míguez González, José Daniel Pena Agras
- Start date 01/02/2008
- End date 31/10/2008
- Universidade da Coruña
Description
This project was a part of a Sports Council program in 2008. It aimed to equip Olympic yachtsmen with tools that would enable them to improve vessel performance. The vessels’ real-time behaviour was studied under different operational conditions, while scale models were used in a wind tunnel to recreate these conditions. The main objective was to allow the competitor to test various configurations and settings for their boat in different wind conditions. In this way, they could determine the optimal configuration for the sail, not only by adjusting their position, but also by regulating the tension of various rigging elements. This process would also help them better understand the interplay between the whole boat and its sails.
To obtain this system we adapted the wind tunnel from the Integrated Group for Engineering Research and successfully addressed the following aspects to develop:
- As well as design a data acquisition system for the tested model. The forces acting on the system, like sail geometry, were measured. This was done in order to perform numerical simulations on these factors at a later stage. Photogrammetry techniques were used for that purpose.
- Data processing software for the acquisition system.
- Control system so that the model can be remotely operated.
- An interface that would enable a competitor to visualise and use intuitively the scale model to be tested in the channel.